Today, I took my 20-stone final exam for Gem Identification. If I pass, I’ll officially be a Graduate Gemologist! (If not, see you again in two weeks… same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.)
I’ve been increasingly anxious about the exam, ever since the materials shipped on Thursday. There’s no way to “study” as such, although I did write up an index of stones I’ve seen, and mark my lab manual appropriately. When I got up this morning, I wasn’t sure how to feel, but I took myself and all my equipment down to the local community college. (My proctor is the geology professor there, my long-time friend Dr. Bill Hirt.)
I took the test in two three-hour blocks (10 stones each), with a lunch break in between. Overall, I think I did pretty well. I was able to get through each set of stones with plenty of time to review my worksheet. (At first, it took me six to eight hours to grade a box of twenty stones. I completed my exam in slightly over four hours, which feels pretty good.)
I hope to get my results on Wednesday or Thursday. Will post again when I know!
Soooo excited and keeping my fingers crossed exceedingly tight! And I had no idea you were still working with Hirt! Memories…. 🙂
Yep, Bill and I have definitely kept in touch over the years. Thanks for the well-wishes, I’ll let everyone know just as soon as I hear anything! 😀